RTS System in the Apocalypse: New World

The Tank pushed through the infected surrounding the southern ramp.

Ordinary infected were thrown aside whenever they crossed its path. Some disappeared beneath its feet, while others were struck by its arms and sent tumbling across the vehicles nearby.

A sedan blocking its path was moved first.

The Tank pressed one hand against its roof and shoved it out of the way. Tires dragged across the pavement before the vehicle struck another car and stopped between two parking lanes.

The Tank continued forward.

Now that it had moved beyond the infected surrounding the ramp, its entire body became visible.

It stood more than twice the height of the ordinary infected around it. The head appeared unusually small, almost buried between shoulders that had expanded outward until the neck was no longer visible.

Muscle covered most of its upper body in uneven layers.

Some sections appeared swollen and rounded, while others had hardened into thick ridges beneath the skin. The flesh around its chest had already split in several places, exposing dark tissue that continued moving whenever the Tank breathed.

Its right arm had grown longer than the other.

The hand reached below its knee, with fingers thick enough to wrap around the edge of a car door. The left arm remained bent near its chest, packed with so much muscle that it could no longer hang naturally.

Even the legs had changed.

They were shorter compared to the rest of its body, but each one appeared thick enough to support the weight above them. Every step pressed its feet against the pavement and left shallow fractures around the heel.

Hans leaned closer to the windshield.

This was no Brute.

The earlier special infected still resembled oversized humans. This one looked as if its body had continued mutating long after the original shape stopped being useful.

Several ordinary infected crowded around its legs.

They moved with it without understanding the danger.

The Tank swept its longer arm through them.

Bodies struck the pavement and nearby cars. One infected landed across a roof, bending the metal before sliding between the vehicles.

Another remained caught in the Tank’s hand.

The larger infected tightened its fingers.

Bones broke beneath the pressure before it threw the body aside.

"Tank confirmed," Ethan reported. "Moving north from the southern ramp."

Big Rhino’s turret had already begun turning.

The commander laughed over the radio.

"Finally! Big Rhino was starting to think the ugly one wanted to hide all day."

Anton watched the main gun settle toward the southern parking rows.

"Hold your fire."

The laughter stopped, though the excitement remained in the commander’s voice.

"Big Rhino is holding."

Anton changed channels.

"Missile Infantry, prepare HEAT."

Three acknowledgments followed from the separate squads.

Mercer’s Missile Infantry moved behind the wall beside the western storefront. He lowered his SMG, brought the launcher onto his shoulder, and rested one knee against the pavement.

Dobrev’s Missile Infantry took position behind Bastion One, using the APC’s rear section as cover while keeping the launcher clear of the soldiers beside it.

The third moved toward the eastern divider near Bastion Three.

All three selected the same missile type—HEAT.

Their helmet displays linked with the Radar markers, while the guidance systems began tracking the Tank through the vehicles still blocking parts of the parking lot.

"Western launcher ready."

"Center ready."

"Eastern launcher ready."

"Hold," Anton ordered. "Big Rhino fires first."

The Tank stepped onto the hood of another vehicle.

Metal collapsed beneath its weight, yet it continued forward without slowing.

Three launchers followed it. So did Big Rhino’s main gun.

"APFSDS loaded," Big Rhino’s gunner reported.

The Tank stepped beyond the collapsed vehicle. Its chest turned toward South One.

"Fire."

"With pleasure!"

Big Rhino’s main gun discharged.

The blast rolled across the avenue, striking the soldiers behind cover and shaking loose pieces of glass from the storefronts.

The shell reached the Tank almost immediately.

It entered beneath the right shoulder and tore through the mass gathered across its upper body. Flesh burst from its back, followed by fragments of bone and dark blood that struck the vehicles behind it.

The Tank stopped.

Its longer arm dropped against the pavement.

For a moment, Hans thought the shot had killed it.

Then, the Tank moved again.

The right shoulder sagged around the wound, leaving the arm partly disconnected from the rest of its body, but the muscle beneath continued tightening. Torn flesh pulled inward whenever the Tank shifted its weight, attempting to hold together what the shell had destroyed.

Its head turned toward Big Rhino.

The Tank opened its mouth.

The roar that followed crossed the parking lot even through the continuing gunfire. Several nearby infected stumbled beneath it, while others changed direction and began following the larger creature toward South One.

Big Rhino’s commander laughed.

"That got its attention!"

"Missile Infantry," Anton called. "Center and west. Fire."

The two launchers answered together.

Their targeting systems had already locked onto the damaged shoulder. Both missiles left their tubes with sharp bursts of exhaust.

The western missile climbed above the parked vehicles before correcting toward the Tank. The center missile passed through the open lane beside Bastion One, remaining lower as it crossed the parking lot.

They struck less than a second apart.

The first entered the damaged shoulder.

The HEAT charge focused inward, punching through the thick muscle and breaking what remained of the joint.

The Tank’s right arm separated from its body and fell across the hood of a car.

The second missile struck lower, near the ribs beneath the same wound. Its explosion tore open the Tank’s side and forced the creature several steps to the left.

A nearby vehicle stopped it from falling.

The Tank caught the roof with its remaining hand.

Metal collapsed beneath its grip.

"Direct hits," the center Missile Infantry reported.

"Target still active," Ethan replied.

Smoke rolled away from the Tank’s body.

The entire right side of its chest had been opened. Sections of exposed muscle hung from the ribs, while blood poured down its torso and across one leg.

It should have fallen by how severe its injuries were.

Instead, the Tank pushed itself away from the vehicle.

Its remaining arm lowered toward the pavement as it leaned forward. The shorter legs widened beneath its body, bracing against the weight that had shifted after losing the other arm.

Hans watched the marker continue moving.

How much damage could that thing take?

The Tank took one step. Then another.

It was slower now, but it had not stopped moving toward Big Rhino.

The western and center Missile Infantry began preparing their next missiles.

The third launcher remained aimed from the eastern divider.

"Eastern launcher still ready," the soldier reported.

Anton watched the Tank move beyond another row of cars.

"Hold your shot. Wait for the chest."

Big Rhino’s loader had already prepared the next round.

"Another APFSDS ready!"

The commander chuckled.

"Big Rhino can keep doing this all day."

The Tank bent its legs.

Cracks spread beneath both feet.

Then it launched itself forward.

The pavement broke beneath its feet.

For something carrying that much weight, the Tank crossed the first several meters far faster than Hans expected. It struck the roof of a sedan during its landing, crushing the passenger compartment before pushing away again with its remaining arm.

The vehicle rolled onto its side behind it.

"Charging!" Ethan reported.

"Eastern launcher, fire!" Anton ordered.

The third Missile Infantry had been waiting for the Tank to expose its chest.

He pulled the trigger.

The HEAT missile left the eastern divider and climbed above the infantry line. Its guidance corrected almost immediately, following the Tank as the creature lowered its shoulder and continued through the parking rows.

Several ordinary infected crossed the missile’s path.

The projectile passed over them and struck the Tank near the center of its chest.

The shaped charge punched inward.

Flesh and fragments of rib burst from its back, opening a cavity beneath the small head buried between its shoulders. The Tank lost its balance in the middle of another step and crashed into two parked vehicles.

Both shifted from the impact.

One rolled backward while the other folded around the Tank’s remaining arm.

The creature roared and pulled itself free.

Even after losing one arm and most of the right side of its chest, it still tried to stand.

Big Rhino’s commander clicked his tongue over the radio.

"Stay down, ugly."

"Target slowed," Ethan reported. "Still active."

The Tank pushed one foot against the pavement.

Its remaining arm pressed into the crushed hood beside it, bending the metal farther as it forced its upper body upright.

The infantry continued firing around the engagement.

Mercer’s squad held the western lane while Dobrev’s soldiers prevented the ordinary infected from crossing toward Big Rhino’s firing path. Bastion One and Bastion Three shifted their coaxial guns farther outward, cutting down anything approaching the Tank from either side.

The center lane opened again.

"Big Rhino," Anton called. "Finish it."

The commander laughed.

"Big Rhino would be delighted!"

The turret made a final adjustment.

Inside the Vanguard, the loader confirmed the second APFSDS round. The gunner held the reticle on the opening torn through the Tank’s chest, waiting as the creature pulled itself higher between the wrecked vehicles.

"Centered!"

"Fire!"

The main gun discharged.

The shell entered through the exposed chest and passed upward through the mass surrounding the Tank’s neck and head.

The rear of its upper body burst apart.

What remained of the Tank rose several centimeters from the impact before falling backward across the damaged vehicles. Its legs struck the pavement last, one twisting beneath the other as the weight finally settled.

The marker remained for another second.

Then it disappeared.

"Tank eliminated," Ethan reported.

Big Rhino’s commander gave a satisfied laugh.

"Excellent target practice!"

Anton ignored the celebration and looked across the rest of the parking lot.

"Missile Infantry, reload. All squads maintain sectors."

The three soldiers lowered their launchers and began preparing fresh missiles.

Big Rhino’s turret returned toward the commercial center, while its coaxial and commander’s machine gun resumed firing into the infected still moving through the parking rows.

Hans kept his eyes on the place where the Tank had fallen.

One APFSDS round had nearly removed an arm.

Two missiles had finished the joint and opened its side.

A third had torn through its chest.

It still took another tank round to kill it.

The Tank remained buried between the wrecked vehicles as the battle continued around it.

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!